


A Visitor

by randomwriter57



Series: Appreciate Ai Week 2016 [3]
Category: Free!
Genre: Common Cold, Fluff, Gen, Magic, it's nothing intense don't worry, this thing is literally a ball of fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-06
Updated: 2016-01-06
Packaged: 2018-05-12 06:23:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5655829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/randomwriter57/pseuds/randomwriter57
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Being ill sucked. Luckily, Aiichiro gets a visitor, and it starts to suck a little less.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Visitor

**Author's Note:**

> This one is actually set in the world of my Arabian Magic AU, the main story of which I hope to post some time this year! You don’t need any prior knowledge of it to read this, though. I had a good time writing this, so I hope you all enjoy it too!
> 
> Written for [Appreciate Ai Week](http://appreciateai.tumblr.com/), Day Three: Magic.

Being ill sucked. Especially when it meant you weren't allowed to do anything. Spending all day in the same room as the scary Healer also sucked. (She always made sure the medicine she gave him was disgusting. She only gave it to him with the assurance that it was supposed to help him, of course, but that didn't stop it from tasting like fire.)

Nitori Aiichiro sighed, turning his head to look at the blank ceiling of the Medical Wing. Just because he used his magic a little more than he was supposed to, he had to catch the cold, didn't he? The Healer told him it was because he had ice magic, and if he used it too often, his body temperature would go down.

"You got off easy, this time," she had told him before feeding him more of her fiery 'medicine'.

And yet, Aiichiro didn't regret his decision to practice magic more than usual. Even if he caught the cold because of it, at least he was starting to control his ice powers more now. If he'd just left his powers as they were, surely that would have been more dangerous to his body. The amount of times he's had to heat up icy shirt cuffs due to being unable to control his magic was far more often than he would have liked. If that continued, he's certain he would still have caught a cold, or worse.

He wished he could use some of his ice magic now. It was too warm in the medical wing - then again, it was too warm everywhere, nowadays. The Samezuka Kingdom was nothing but desert. There was nowhere else for the heat to go except into their rooms and their bodies. If only he could use just a little bit of magic now, just to cool himself off-

But the ice wouldn't melt quickly enough to hide from the Healer. No, he had to withstand the heat. As much as he wanted to cool off, there was nothing he could do for himself. If he was lucky, the Healer would maybe give him a damp cloth when she returned.

Aside from wanting to cool off, all Aiichiro wanted was to return to work. Most of the servants in the palace would take it as a blessing to be bedridden so they could get out of the harsh labours they had to endure daily. But working in the palace was one of the things which he loved the most. This was especially true because he had the chance to work alongside the single person he looked up to the most, his role model: Matsuoka Rin. Rin was the Sultan of Samezuka, the person who saved their kingdom from the tyrannous reign of his father before him. Even though Rin refused to admit that his father had been a tyrant, he still disagreed with a few of his laws. For starters, the first thing he did upon ascending to the throne was to banish all slavery in the Samezuka Kingdom. Now, to own any servants, they had to be paid and given rights as any other workers were. This meant that Aiichiro, once an orphaned palace servant, no longer had to suffer just to stay alive.

To take things a step further, Rin had even appointed Aiichiro as his personal assistant. Aiichiro delivered messages and aided Rin more than any other servant. No longer did he have to partake in ordinary servants' activities, breaking his back day and night. It was a blessing, having the chance to work alongside Rin, the person who he aspired to be like the most. He was capable and strong, a valuable leader of the kingdom. Aiichiro had a lot of respect for him.

Of course, this made being unable to work even worse for him, because he couldn't aid Rin due to his own mistakes. That was the only regret he had in causing himself to become bedridden. He was of no use to Rin if he couldn't do anything, after all.

Aiichiro sighed and turned to face the doorway. If only he could be working, moving, stretching his muscles, and assisting Rin. Instead, he was confined to a bed, kept hidden away from the rest of the palace in case he passed on his illness.

A moment later, the Healer walked into the room, though she stopped just after entering. "Nitori-san, you have a visitor."

"Okay," Aiichiro said. He had no idea who would be visiting him. Perhaps it was one of the other servants, or one of the guards, or maybe Nagisa, the palace dancer. Sitting up a little, he kept his eyes on the door, watching as the Healer stepped out of the way, revealing the visitor.

Aiichiro almost fell over. Or rather, he would have if he wasn't already half lying down.

"Hey," Matsuoka Rin said, stepping into the room.

"H-hello, your Highness!" Aiichiro said, hurriedly bowing his head. "I-it's an honour to have you visit me today."

"You don't need to be so formal," Rin said with a sigh. He walked closer to the bed. "Sorry about your illness."

"T-there's no need for you to apologise, your Highness! It was my fault entirely." Aiichiro felt himself flush a little. Perhaps that was a little too informal for speaking to the Sultan. He couldn't take it back now, of course, but he could always apologise if he needed to.

Rin gave a weak laugh. "Yeah, using your magic too much does this kind of thing."

Aiichiro looked down. "I apologise for inconveniencing you, your Highness."

"Don't apologise for that," Rin said, taking another step forward. "I'm not the one who's bedridden. If anyone's inconvenienced, it's you."

Without saying anything, Aiichiro looked back up. He wasn't sure what to say to that.

Instead of waiting for a response, Rin began to speak. "Listen, I know what happened. I've been there. You think practising more than recommended will make you stronger, so you do that. Then it backfires on you. It sucks."

Aiichiro smiled a little. "It does, your Highness."

"That's why you don't overuse your magic," Rin said, his face becoming stern. "You're putting too much pressure on your body. Magic is a tricky thing, and the human body isn't strong enough to take large capacities of it in a short period. Even though you think you're making yourself stronger, you're only weakening yourself."

"I understand, your Highness."

"Then don't do it again, okay?" Rin smiled at him. "I know it's fun to strengthen your magical abilities, but there's no point in hurting yourself over it."

Aiichiro nodded, feeling a little like he'd just been lectured. Still, he didn't feel offended at all. In fact, he felt a little better knowing that Rin didn't mind that he couldn't do his job at the moment. "Yes, your Highness. Thank you for your concern."

Rin nodded to himself. "Right. So I'd better get going now. Stuff to do, you know."

"Thank you for visiting me, your Highness," Aiichiro said, bowing his head once more.

"It's fine," Rin said. Then, tentatively, he said, "I was worried. You'll be fine, though. I'm sure you'll be back in action in no time."

"Of course, your Highness."

With a final nod, Rin swept back out of the room.

Aiichiro smiled to himself and settled back down. His nose was blocked and his body felt stuffy, but at least now he could rest knowing that Rin had faith in him. He was right, of course - using magic too much was dangerous for the body. Aiichiro still didn't completely regret his decision to practice more than usual. But now, he knew that he wouldn't do it again. He had to keep that faith, after all. As much as he loved developing his magic, his health was more important.

Smiling, he looked back up at the blank ceiling and sighed. With a bit of luck, he'd get out of there soon. Then he could use his magic again - this time, however, he'd be more careful with it. There was no point in hurting himself over it, after all.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me at [randomactuallywrites-57](http://randomactuallywrites-57.tumblr.com/) on tumblr | [@randomwriter57](http://twitter.com/randomwriter57) on twitter!


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